Petroleum Industry was discussed last meeting. A brief introduction was included as well as its history. From the report, I learned about the formation of petroleum- from Aerobic decay (plants, algae, and plankton), to kerogen formation when the organic matter began to transform into waxy substance, then it will undergo a process called catagenesis to be transformed as hydrocarbons and finally oil extraction. The introduction allowed me to grasp the basic necessary information needed in order to understand petroleum production. The difference of oil rigs (on land) and platform rig (on shore) is also new information to me so I take note of that. The fractions of different distillates and residual were shown and I learned how these distillates vary with respect to temperature and its different characteristics such as volatility and products involved. During the 350 CE, the earliest oil wells are drilled using strong bamboo bits in China. The drilling systems for production of kerosene and naphtha were successfully done on years 1858, 1859, and 1890. The conversion of petroleum to light fuels was processed on 1910s, where the earliest process was called thermal cracking. History continues and at the beginning of 1990s, refining has become one of the world’s most stringently regulated manufacturing industries.
Petrochemicals are then introduced; I learned that it is derived from petroleum or natural gas. The end products of petrochemicals include the manufacture of plastics, medicines, cosmetics, and a lot more. It does not largely contribute to greenhouse gases compared to combustion of fossil fuels. Olefins, aromatics, polymers, and inorganic chemicals are the categories of petrochemicals.
The process of distillation is explained where it involves a two way flow of fluid. The hot vapors rise up and the cooler fluids go down. As the crude oil in a form of liquid and vapor enters the column as feed, it will be separated; the vapor will then exit at the top to the condenser. Heavy hydrocarbon can be found in the bottom of the column; this is called residual and is used for production of asphalt. A more detailed process was discussed where the straight run gasoline as an example was explained. The straight run gasoline does not undergo series of processes and it is simple, it doesn’t undergo cracking or pyrolysis but rather it is refined through fractionation. Also, this gasoline from the oil well will be put in the field storage then it will flow through the pumping lines to the refinery storage. This refinery storage is our crude oil tank; the gasoline will enter the heater then inside the crude tower or the distillation column. The solid naphtha and kerosene undergo the strippers in order to remove straight run gasoline. The gasoline vaporized at the top of the stripper and will go back to crude tower.
The unit processes and operations that involve in petroleum include fluid flow, heat transfer and distillation. It also undergo absorption, adsorption, filtration (to remove wax), and extraction. The end products were explained at the end of the presentation.
The introduction for the paper industry was also discussed but I think I will be able to understand it more if the report continues next week.
